While virtually all organizations are built of work teams, cultivating high-performance teams will give yours a significant competitive advantage. More than a mere collection of individuals, a team is a group of “people with complementary skills who are committed in a common purpose, performance goals and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable.”[i] Implementing successful project management strategies and training can help you and your colleagues to realize your high-performance potential.
Good project management can have a positive effect on your team and organization, but one approach doesn’t fit everyone or every project. Project managers may select from a wide variety of methods to guide teams through projects; in fact, there are more than 8,000 different methodologies from which to choose![ii] While the options may seem overwhelming, begin with the basics and then consider factors to evaluate your needs and the best fit for your organization. Whether you are just introducing project management strategies to your team, or you want to help them hone high-level skills, SMU CAPE can support you with expert-led training.
Start Here: Foundations of Project Management
Understanding the components of successful project management, and the different tools and processes available to use will help you select the best approaches and methodologies for your team. SMU CAPE’s Project Management Certificate Program introduces different project management methods and includes group activities and individual projects to practice using various tools and techniques. With forty hours of content, you and your colleagues will build a comprehensive foundation to implement a project management approach in your work and organization.
Next Step: Build Your Toolbox
Some of the most popular approaches used in project management practice today are Scrum, Agile and Lean Six Sigma. Concentrated training on particular methodologies will equip you with the confidence to implement the best approach for your organization.
Scrum
Scrum is a “framework that helps people, teams and organizations generate value through adaptive solutions for complex problems,”[iii] and it can be applied to many types of work and organizations. Using a scrum approach, project teams organize work in short cyclical phases, or “sprints,” that are repeated until the entire project is completed. By producing deliverables from each sprint, stakeholders or clients can realize the value of a project throughout the process rather than waiting until the full culmination to see results. SMU CAPE’s Certified ScrumMaster® Workshop will give you the hands-on skills to apply Scrum principles to your work.
Agile
Originally used by software developers, but now popular across many industries, the agile project management approach is iterative and focuses on continuous improvement through each cycle or sprint of a project. Agile project management involves regular feedback with stakeholders or clients to ensure alignment and make adjustments. Fundamentally, agile is a project management philosophy that many other methodologies, including Scrum, implement in unique ways. SMU CAPE’s on-demand Agile Project Management class includes interactive exercises, video demonstrations, and case studies to help your team practice project management skills in an Agile context.
Lean Six Sigma
Combining the Lean method, and its focus on maximizing efficiency, with Six Sigma and its statistical model, Lean Six Sigma principles offer a data-driven approach to process improvement. Integrating Lean Six Sigma with project management fundamentals can provide you with robust systems to manage complicated projects and maximize your team’s performance. SMU CAPE now offers four online Lean Six Sigma programs for students to build knowledge and skills. These are Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt, Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and Principles of Lean.
Level Up: Certify Your Expertise
Recognized certification in project management signifies credibility and rigor, to your colleagues and to your clients. SMU CAPE’s project management courses count toward the educational hours required for certifications from the Project Management Institute (PMI), the leading international professional association for project management.
____________________________
[i] https://hbr.org/1993/03/the-discipline-of-teams-2
[ii] https://www.teamwork.com/project-management-guide/project-management-methodologies/#the-project-management-methodologies-list
[iii] https://www.scrum.org/resources/what-is-scrum